I’ve been wanting to take part to this event for a while… and finally this year I managed to do so! At the entrance of the Alcatraz, the famous club in Milan which has been hosting this event for several years now, I found quite a queue, but again it was early and everything was still bearable. As I walk towards the ticket box to pay the entrance ( 8 Euros!) the flash of a camera hits my eye: a photographer had just framed the people waiting in line….. “Smart move”, I thought. The atmosphere is relaxed, a bit like home, we’re all there for the same reason, the same zealing passion: music! Non one trying to push, no one trying to cut the line, just happy faces and lots of smiles. Inside the Alcatraz the fair is neatly organized and I immediately stumble over to the stand representing the historical store Prina, where I shine my eyes admiring Gibson Les Paul incredibly beautiful exposition. Two princesses stand out: a 1982 Custom Silver Burst and a 1986 Custom Plus Village which is absolutely the most beautiful to me. But that’s not the end of it…I turn around and see the space dedicated to Fenders and have a heart attack…..a smashing 1964 Jaguar, which kept on saying to me “there those who can and those who can’t”. The price: 2.350 euros….unreachable. The sound is marvellous and chit-chatting with one of the store owners I find out that all of the displayed guitars are ‘original USA’, imported thanks to an American collector which happens to be a good co-worker as well as a good friend! In the mean time the Alcatraz starts to fill up and the sound of guitars, basses as well as the astonished voices of those who cannot believe his own eyes and ears, can be heard all over. I go on in my visit and cannot avoid stopping by to listen to Nico Di Battista and his DB Guitar, the only guitar that enables you to play the guitar and the bass at the same time! The handle is in Kaya mahogany, the keyboard in rosewood and the strings in a carbon fibre specifically made for this instrument. Inside the guitar, there’s a preamplification circuit, created by Di Battista himself, which is able to play sounds that somehow match the types of wood used. The price: 1600 euros + taxes. Also, with the guitar there’s an instruction booklet which includes various exercises and suggestions to hell you learn how to use this special instrument. Absolutely Beautiful Guitar! Following on, I also meet those who come from afar bringing a particular style of basses: Sciuscià (Naples), and those who only have this passion, like Leonardo, a thus grants himself a corner close to the cages Actually, you happen to meet whatsoever, even those who sell strange stickers of naked women, probably for the men’s guitar cases….and nothing for us women guitar players?! Only few amplifiers, and most of them Marshall or Fender, no Hangel or other brands for us metal players….pity. I look around and see that there are all kinds of people with different ages, and you can automatically tell who has been dragged there by a boyfriend or by a friend because they’re all sitting on the stairs huffing and puffing. Then, there are the fanatics like me which look at every single thing and detail while listening without ever being tired. The most particular stand is Merula’s which presents itself with a big poster saying: “those who register here and comes personally to the store will receive coupons for 50 Euros free gas”….I try to ask a few questions, but only get a calendar as an answer….weird! Francesco from Jimmy Guitar Factory was instead very kind. I was impressed by the special style of his instruments, basses and guitars: a bit Glam, Pick-up single coil with a special wing under the structure so to have a winding sensation which gives more power and keeps the sound clean and well defined. It is then that I find out that these are the instruments used by Zucchero in this year’s tour. There also is an Acoustic Corner at the fair. Since I have predilection f